Holden lacks the essential ability to motivate himself, which he needs to survive in the 'real' world. He continues to be kicked out of every school he attends because he fails to apply himself, his simple reasoning being "How do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't" (213). Everybody else in his life tries to encourage him to care about school and his grades but it doesn't make any difference. From the start of the novel Holden's history teacher at Pencey tells him "I'd like to put some sense in that head of yours, boy. I'm trying to help you. I'm trying to help you, if I c

Mr. Antolini warns him of the fall he was riding for and how "the whole arrangements designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives were looking for something their own environment couldn't supply them with. Or they thought their own environment couldn't supply them with. So they gave up looking. They gave up before they ever really even got started" (187). Holden already had the mind frame that there were no people out there to measure up to his standards, which is why he never found them. He will not allow himself to because by this point he had given up on school and eventually he gave up on the whole world. Tragically though, he gives it all up before he truly has a chance to get it started.

Through the course of Holden's childhood and teenage years he basically alienates his emotions from whom he is as a person. Holden brings his brother Allie up when he is upset. He is still very confused about his death, and because of Holden's absence at the funeral he had no chance to fully say good bye and comes to the conclusion that the only 'real' person he actually knew is no longer alive. He is not able to understand that he is hurting inside and yearning for the comfort the adult world could have given him and should have given him. As a result of him cutting his emotions off he is unable to comprehend what is truly bothering him and therefore projects this confusion onto others.

What he is not aware of and Mr. Antolini tried pointing out to him is, "You're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score" (189). Up until this point Holden believed that he is the only one to feel this way. He thinks the whole world is full of 'phonies', 'morons' and 'Ivy League bastards' and truly believes that he is the only intelligent person alive. Except what he fails to understand is he doesn't really hate these people, he hates himself. Only he has to shut down his own emotions and therefore keeps falling and falling without being aware of what is truly happening. There is no bottom end for Holden because even if he were to hit bottom, he wouldn't allow himself to feel it and would result in him to just keep falling the terrible kind of fall Mr. Antolini warns about. If only Holden could have combined his emotions and intellec

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1584
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)